STRINGSCALES

D half-diminished b4 Scale — Guitar Fretboard Visualization

Low E string: E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

A string: Bb, C, D, E, F, Gb, Ab at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11

D string: D, E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D at frets 0, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

G string: Ab, Bb, C, D, E, F, Gb at frets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11

B string: C, D, E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb at frets 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11

High E string: E, F, Gb, Ab, Bb, C, D, E at frets 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12

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D half-diminished b4

The half-diminished b4 scale, the sixth mode of the neapolitan major scale, takes the locrian #2 half-diminished sound and lowers the 4th as well. With the 3rd and 4th collapsed together it is nearly a cluster scale, keeping only the natural 2nd as breathing room. A specialist color for m7b5 chords in dense modern jazz writing.

it consists of these notes and degrees:

D

i°

Ddim
E

II

G♭7no5/E
F

biii

Fm
G♭

bIV+

G♭aug
A♭

bV+

A♭aug
B♭

bVI

B♭maj
C

bVII

Cmaj♭5

Same notes, different mode

D half-diminished b4 uses the same notes as the scales below. Start from a different note and you get a new mode built on the very same note set.

E altered dominant double b3F neapolitan majorGb leading whole toneAb lydian augmented dominantBb lydian dominant b6C major locrian

half diminished b4 in all 12 keys, with chords and related scales

tip
  • Nearly a cluster: with bIII (F) and b4 (Gb) adjacent, arpeggiate root, b5 (Ab), b7 (C) first and add the packed middle notes as passing color.
  • Over a m7b5 chord in dense modern-jazz writing, the b4 (Gb) acts as a blue third-below-the-third; resolve it down to bIII (F).
  • Keep the natural 2nd (E) as your breathing room; it is the only bright interval in the scale.
  • It is the sixth mode of neapolitan major: the parent fingering a major 3rd below D plays it directly.

How to play D half-diminished b4 on guitar

Root rings open on the D string, and the E pair sits a major second above, so two strings drone before you fret a note. B string root sits three frets up, which lets a phrase run in first position without a barre. Tonic chord is Ddim, and nothing in the set acts as a functional dominant. E altered dominant double b3 is the same fingering 2 semitones up, so the shape does two jobs. Position two begins at fret 14.

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